Are you faking confidence on LinkedIn? In this episode, Michelle J Raymond speaks directly to B2B marketers who feel like they’re “figuring it out as they go” on LinkedIn. If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t know what I don’t know,” this conversation is for you.

We unpack the real cost of guessing, why generic advice and AI tools aren’t enough on their own, and how to build genuine LinkedIn strategy confidence that delivers measurable ROI. If you’re responsible for brand awareness, leads, Company Pages, or employee advocacy, this will resonate.

Key moments in this episode -

0:00 Fake It Till You Make It on LinkedIn: The Real Cost

01:27 Why Marketers Are Struggling on LinkedIn

04:27 Overwhelming Reality of Modern Marketing

05:43 What You Actually Need to Succeed

06:10 Why Generic/AI-Generated Strategies Can Lead You Astray

07:19 What a Proper LinkedIn Strategy Should Give You (Clarity + Analytics)

09:23 No One-Size-Fits-All: Ask for Help and Get Tailored Support

10:27 Next Steps: Book the Free Strategy Intro Call (Wrap-Up)

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE J RAYMOND

1. Michelle J Raymond on LinkedIn
2. Book a free intro call
3. https://socialmediaforb2bgrowthpodcast.com/
4. B2B Growth Co newsletter

Today's episode is sponsored by Metricool. Make sure to register for a FREE Metricool account today. Use Code MICHELLE30 to try any Premium Plan FREE for 30 days. https://metricool.com/michellejraymond/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=20260217_michelle-raymond_feb-analytics-strategy_en&utm_content=audio&utm_term=q1

I know your secret.

I know that you are trying to fake it until you make it on LinkedIn,

and I wanna talk about the true cost of that in today's episode.

G'Day

everyone.

It's Michelle J Raymond here, and I have pulled myself away from watching

the curling at the Winter Olympics and trying to figure out what is going on

with that sport, along with trying to figure out how does anyone's knees ever

survive doing moguls, like honestly, my knees are sore, just watching it on tv.

But that's not why you are here today listeners.

You are here today because something in the title of this podcast

episode grabbed your attention.

The fake it until you make it is not a LinkedIn strategy

that will deliver results.

I'm gonna talk about it honestly and in a little bit of a different

format to what I usually do, short, sweet, and from the heart.

And the reason that I'm doing this is because I've had a couple of client

calls this week where clients are booked in to do LinkedIn strategies

and the marketers that I'm working with, when I ask them what they would

like to get out of the sessions, they both have responded confidence.

They're smart marketers.

But when it comes to figuring LinkedIn out, nobody ever taught them.

So after this quick word from our podcast sponsors, Metricool I wanna talk

about the true cost of this and what I think you should be doing instead.

Straight up I wanna get something out of the way.

I have an absolute vested interest in you understanding the power

of a proper LinkedIn strategy.

Why is that?

Because that's exactly the service that I offer to people.

That doesn't mean that you should switch off or stop listening to this podcast.

Because you have just as much a vested interest in making sure that the time and

effort that you are putting into LinkedIn is actually generating some kind of ROI

for the businesses that you work in.

I have worked with hundreds of different marketers from firms of all different

sizes all over the world over the last six years that I've had my business.

And there are kind of two types of marketers, they are either fresh grads

that are 25 to 30 with very little real world experience, and they are

thrown in the deep end with no formal training on LinkedIn and expected because

they grew up with social media, that they should know exactly what to do.

Especially if they're confident on other platforms like TikTok or Instagram or just

come to LinkedIn and do the same thing, and they do that and then it doesn't work.

On the other end, I also have really senior marketing managers that have

worked in marketing their entire lives have often been responsible for marketing

campaigns, run through LinkedIn, but not actually had to do the work themselves.

Either they had teams or they had agencies look after that for them,

and now they're in a position where it's their job to get it done, and

quite often they're in a team of one.

So shout out to all the marketing teams of one that are just really out

there delivering results for business.

And I have a special, you know, soft spot for those people in teams of one because

I'm still trying to figure out how you can keep up to date with everything.

So everybody wants us to be AI and ChatGPT and Claude and

Nano Banana and this and that.

All the large language models and all the AI tools out there.

We should be experts.

We should have implemented that into our business processes.

Along with being experts on emails.

We should be experts on blogging, on Google ads, on paid campaigns, organic

strategies, employee advocacy, company pages versus personal, like you name

it, the list goes on and on and on.

And this doesn't even incorporate any of the work that you're

doing for face-to-face events.

Like it's mind blowing.

I'm trying to keep up with the changes on LinkedIn alone and they are difficult

to keep up with as a specialist.

So those generalists that are out there that are trying to keep up

with everything, like shout out to you, hats off because honestly,

I don't know how you do it.

When I talk to these marketers, the thing that they want is confidence.

Confidence to know that the activities that they're undertaking are the right

activities, that will generate results, and that they're not wasting time,

effort, or resources on doing things that are effectively not working to

get them closer to the business goals.

And you don't know what you don't know.

Like you can't go to ChatGPT or tools like that and say, help me write

this strategy, and yes they will.

But how will you critically be able to analyse whether that

information that it gave you is right or wrong, current or outdated?

Related back to your style of business, your industry, your experiences, your

resources, and honestly, I've seen some very flashy 70 page LinkedIn strategies

that people come to me with and I just look at it and go, you haven't got a hope

in hell of ever putting that into place.

Not because they're not smart, like absolutely not, but because

if you start in the wrong place.

You undertake activities that don't generate results, you'll give up

too quickly, and that's why I really wanna have this conversation today.

Yes, of course.

Like I said at the top of this episode, I have a vested interest.

I am here to help you get answers so that the work that you do is fulfilling.

That's what is really important to me in this episode.

I want you to feel like when you are on LinkedIn that you

know exactly what you're doing.

How often you should be doing it.

You know how to show up different to your competitors and own that space.

You know how to check analytics in different areas if things

are working or aren't working.

I want you to know is the work that you're doing enough or is it too much?

Should you be focused more on your page or on the profiles?

How do you get your team involved in helping and incorporate

the Power of Two concept?

This is exactly the work that I love doing with businesses.

I've figured out LinkedIn.

You don't have to because I've done it for you, and sometimes it could be that

you just book a Power Hour with me, bring a load of questions, and you and

I will have that conversation to make sure that you can go confidently forward.

I wanna make sure that the effort that you put in to LinkedIn is rewarded so

that you can hand on heart when someone in the business says to you, is that

LinkedIn thing working, you can show them with confidence that these are

the results that we are generating.

I know that every episode I quite often will give you actionable tips, things

that you can take away that implement straight away on LinkedIn and a lot

of people I love that you listen to these episodes and you take away that

actionable tip and you put it into play.

That I love that.

But what these generic episodes don't do is factor in, is that the right thing

for you and your business as of today, or whenever you listen to the podcast.

Now, this doesn't mean that you can't pick up some cool stuff from the

podcast, and please don't stop listening.

That's not what the point of this is.

I want you to know that often, as they would say, generic

advice doesn't apply to everyone.

There is no one size fits all strategy.

So if you have been struggling, it's time to get real.

It's time for you to put your hand up and tell somebody else in your

business that you need some help.

Ask for them to invest in your success.

Your success is your business's success, and I can't wait to work with more

amazing people like the start of this year has just been full of ambitious,

innovative, purpose-driven people that are trying to be the best at what they do.

So if you bring along that enthusiasm and your questions and your goals.

Then I assure you that I can make that happen and give you a tailored

LinkedIn strategy that will deliver the results, and most importantly

deliver you that confidence.

If you've been listening to me talk today and found yourself nodding

along, I want you to please go to the show notes look for the 15

minute free strategy intro call.

Let's have a conversation.

Let's talk about what's going on in your business and have a think about what would

it be like to actually have confidence and know that the effort that you're putting

into LinkedIn is getting you closer to those business goals and going to pay off.

Wouldn't that be a cool way to start next week?

I hope to talk to you soon.

Cheers.